Debra
Bevaart cannot
recall a time in her life when she was not an artist. Her earliest memories
include a childhood spent sketching and drawing British Columbia landscapes.
At high school she branched into three-dimensional art by sculpting in
clay and later in stone, an artform she continues to explore at her gallery
in Lund, B.C., where she works primarily with hand tools on single blocks
of stone. Taking her inspiration from the wildlife-rich area she calls
home, she is recognized for her uncanny ability to capture the essence
of her subjects, whether sea lions, wolves, bears, eagles or fish. Her
many highly detailed pointilist-style drawings depicting aquatic environments
grace the pages of this book.

Ian
Forbes has cast a fly on every major trout stream in British Columbia
and is diligently working his way through the minor flows. Combining
his 35 year B.C. Forest Service career with as much stream prospecting
as possible has provided him a unique opportunity to explore B.C. He
has written and illustrated outdoor magazine articles for more than
40 years, and many of his paintings hang in private galleries. Besides
extensive annual forays within B.C., never more than a year goes by
without a trip to at least one of several favorite fishing haunts, including
Alberta, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Australia and New Zealand. A fly tier
for 50 years, many of his innovative original patterns are known to
B.C. fly fishers. He has contributed more than 80 of his fly pattern
pencil sketches to this book.

Ken
Kirkby is an internationally acclaimed Canadian artist, perhaps
best know for Isumatq, the largest original oil-on-canvas portrait
in the world, measuring 152 feet across and standing 12 feet high. Terming
the work his "homage to the Canadian Arctic and its peoples,"
he spent five years in the High Arctic living with nomadic Inuit and
20 years painting to complete the project. Isumataq is an Inuit
word for "an object in the presence of which wisdom might show
itself." He was awarded the Commemorative Medal for the 125th
anniversary of Canadian Confederation in recognition of his significant
contribution to Canada. His paintings have been described as "wonderful
works of mystical simplicity" and several are in the possession
of the Royal family, including the private collections of the Queen
Mother, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. He has contributed paintings
to assist the Inuit, the Steelhead society of B.C., as well as a number
of his many angling works illustrate the Journals which close each chapter
of this book.

Ian
Roberts has a degree in still photography from Ryerson Polytechnical
Institute in Toronto, spent a year of post-graduate study and work in
Italy, owns a Victoria-based photography business and has been fly fishing
since he was 10. He merges his love of photography with his passion
for fly fishing in images which have appeared in various publications,
including the color fly photography that appears in this book. He specializes
in estuary fishing for sea-run cutthroat and salmon, but rarely misses
and opportunity to bonefish and other warm-water species. His various
written contributions to this book mark his first foray into the field
of angling writing.